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October 10, 2008

ALCS 1: Red Sox 2, Rays 0

Matsuzaka took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the bullpen trio of Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon shut the door on the Rays.

In the fifth inning against Shields, Jason Bay walked and raced to third on Mark Kotsay's pop fly double down the left field line. Jed Lowrie's fly out to right scored Bay with the night's first run. (The Red Sox had threatened in the first. Dustin Pedroia walked with one out and went to third on Kevin Youkilis's two-out ground-rule double to right, but J.D. Drew struck out.)

Boston made it 2-0 in the eighth when Pedroia singled with one out. He stole second before David Ortiz walked and then he scored on Youkilis's double off the tip of Carl Crawford's glove in shallow left.

Dice walked three Rays in the first, but wiggled out of trouble, retiring retired 16 out of the next 17 batters. He started the seventh by allowing two singles, but with runners at first and third he got a fly ball to short left, a strikeout and a fielder's choice.

Matsuzaka allowed two more singles to start the seventh and was pulled. Jeemer got Carlos Pena to hack on 3-0 and fly out to Drew in right-center. Then Masterson got Evan Longoria to hit into a 6-4-3 DP. Bot set down Tampa in order in the ninth: K, PF5, K.

NLCS: The Philles held off the Dodgers 8-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Tampa Bay and Boston met 18 times during the regular season. The Rays won 10 games, the Red Sox eight. Eleven of the 18 games were decided by three runs or fewer, six by one run (the Rays won all six of those), two in extra innings. Home records: Rays 8-1, Red Sox 7-2. ... And they brawled on June 5.

The Red Sox addedMike Timlin to the roster for the ALCS. Gil Valezquez -- who was added mid-DS in place of Mike Lowell -- was left off. ... The Rays added pitcher Edwin Jackson and subtracted Eric Hinske.

I think you can expect a lot of what you saw during the regular season; I do. There will be a lot of tight games, I think. Both sides have got good starting pitching and bullpens. Offensively, they probably have a little bit more hitting ability overall, but we have that ability to hit in the clutch. ...

[I]n a seven-game series like this, you truly have to play it one at a time ... it's really magnified at this particular juncture. ...

They're probably saying the same things — it's pretty even based on the familiarity with the two groups, the number of times that we have played against one another, the close games we have played against each another; the fact that we've finally broken through up there a little bit and they got their win down here. It's really a very balanced situation and it's going to come down to the pitching once again. ... It's going to be a grind-it-out kind of series.

Boston and Tampa are young, tough, hungry, and athletic. They're everything the New York Yankees are not.

The Rays bullpen has been lights out against the Red Sox in Tampa. In the nine Trop games, the quintet of Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, Dan Wheeler, Trever Miller, and Chad Bradford has made 18 appearances, pitching 18.2 innings. They have allowed only 11 hits and 7 walks (0.96 WHIP) and one earned run (0.48 ERA), while striking out 15.

Red Sox Blog Watch: Firebrand lists "the five most important moments" between the Rays and Red Sox in 2008 ... Over The Monster reports on the surprise press conference at which a teary-eyed John Henry vowed the Red Sox would "return to its roots" and "start losing again" ... Paul SF previews the series at YFSF and he agrees with me: Sox in 6 ... Survivng Grady presents a special edition of "Ellsbury 'n' Elf" ... Out in CF notes that the rays at the Florida Aquarium are being fed "little Red Sox-shaped snacks".

Michael Silverman, Herald: Red Sox in 7. ... David Pinto, Baseball Musings: "Flipping a coin might be just as good. The Red Sox are my favorite, but with just a 51% chance of winning the series." ... Yahoo ran 10,000 AccuScore simulations of the ALCS: The Red Sox won 53% of them.

Tribe Time ... Angels Time ... Rays Time ... we know how this movie ends.

Rocktober...

2004 was coming back from the dead, then putting on the work boots and bludgeoning the Yankees and Cardinals to death, then bathing in champagne.

2007 was the Domination. Nevermind the three straight losses to Cleveland, which were merely a bump in the road. Then Beckett gets the ball on Game 5 and we never looked back. Instead we've crushed both Cleveland and Colorado back into mediocrity.

I agree that 2008 feels different. Not only could this be the year the ALCS goes back and forth, back and forth... But what about the World Series? Could this be the year we see a World Series game lost? A series that goes five games? Six? *gasp*... Seven?

"Could this be the year we see a World Series game lost? A series that goes five games? Six? *gasp*... Seven?"

If it does go seven, I will be there! Took an hour and a half of calling, but I finally got through at 4:30, and only game 7 was left, so I got two separate singles in the grandstand. Of course, if we make the WS, I'm still rooting for a sweep. I'm not gonna root for any losses to make game 7 possible. But good to know if it happens, I'm there. Let's take care of this Rays squad real quick first, though....

Gotta grill some fish for work this weekend -- switching shifts tomorrow so I can be home for G2, but it means being in at 8AM -- and I'll be sipping an ice cold Asahi in anticipation of Dice's ass-kicking performance tonight.

From a baseball fan's point of view, I wish the World Series would be the World Series again. At the same time I don't want to see the Red Sox lose any of the games, but if they do, they do. Just as long as they win the last one.

It is true, there ARE people who choose, for whatever reason, to deny themselves the comfort and the joy of sox. They may have had a bad experience with sox in the past; They may be confused about the wide range of choice available these days and question their soxual orientation; and there are, of course, those who simply have cold feet over the whole matter.

Did Odysseus stand idle when suitors tried to lay his wife and steal his crown? No. He cornered them in a domed Tropicana stadium and he slaughtered them (if I remember correctly).

Given all the exaggerated talk about how slowly Dice works by baseball writers lately, I'm not sure the Odysseus angle is the one we want to play. Sure, he slaughtered them (with an assist from rookie Telemachus), but it did take him ten years to get around to it.

That and a FKR win is more likely than any of the subdivided components of a more probable Sox win, so it's the best answer to a goofily phrased poll. Also I'm the kind of asshole who'd rather be proven wrong by winning.

I'd like to know what is the key to this series for the Red Sox? Or better yet, who is the key? One guy. I want to hear one name from everyone. One guy, if he's on, the Red Sox have an excellent chance of winning. If he's off, it's ass clinching time and your chances go down considerably.

Oh man, Allan, you just gave me the best idea ever. We should get to mix to our own tastes. Just a little two channel mixer, so when you couldn't stand the announcers anymore you could just turn up the crowd, so you'd still have that ambiance noise, or if you need the yak-yaks so you can focus on threading or something, you can turn them up! It would be fierce!

Evening all...the Youk GR double made me wince (since he tagged the shit out of that and it just hit in an inopportune spot), and Drew's K made me wince harder. Still, at least we know Shields can be gotten to. Let's hope it's sooner than later.

caray far more excited when shields strands two runners in the 1st (and when he gets the sox 1-2-3 in the 2nd) than when dice gets out of a bases loaded situation. it's little things like this than show bias.